Boofheads, bloopers and knitted boobs - 2015's lighter moments

Greg Dyett looks back on news stories from 2015 that took us slightly beyond the usual news agenda.

Boofheads, bloopers and knitted boobs - 2015's lighter momentsBoofheads, bloopers and knitted boobs - 2015's lighter moments

Boofheads, bloopers and knitted boobs - 2015's lighter moments

The term "boofhead" is Australian for fool and it's been ruled unparliamentary after a rowdy exchange in the Senate.

It's one of several news stories from 2015 that took us slightly beyond the usual news agenda.

Greg Dyett reports.

During a heated debate on the issue of tax avoidance, Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan was forced to withdraw the term after calling a fellow Senator a boofhead.

(Speaker) "Senator Heffernan. (Heffernan) "I was going to make a point of order, I don't think this chamber should tolerate a parliamentary.... You want to come outside?" (Speaker) Order, Order. (Heffernan) Boofhead! Bloody... (Speaker) Senator Heffernan you have the right to make a point of order but your language was unparliamentary and I ask you to withdraw. Order Senator Heffernan resume your seat until I finish. You have a right to make a point of order, I've ruled your presentation was unparliamentary and I ask you to withdraw."

To medical matters and in the United States, a man who cut his finger while slicing a melon faced a medical bill of more than $17,000 for a few stitches.

"There's no reason that a two-inch cut should have a five figure bill. The knife was new, it slipped, this is definitely a flesh wound."

The inflated bill was the result of a dispute between the hospital and Ryan Edgerton's insurance company.

Still in the US, and there were some novel protests in the state of Texas this year by anti-gun demonstrators.

Students at the University of Texas in Austin vowed to carry sex toys to campus to protest against a change to university rules allowing people to carry concealed handguns at uni, provided they have a licence.

The proposed protest was labelled on Twitter under the hashtag #CocksNotGlocks.

And after New Year's Day, Austin residents will be able to openly carry handguns.

Anti-gun rally organiser Andrew Dobbs explained how they'd protest:

"We are in a scary time right now and lots of scary things are happening and some people want us to be more afraid and some people want us to surround ourselves with the tools of violent threat to scare others. I choose to believe that fear is not the solution to the threat of our times. We're going to march that way, we're going to find them and we're going to fart in their faces. Yeah. Let's go do it."

On the 'more embarrassing than damaging' list for 2015, two United States Military Command social media accounts had to be shut down.

They'd been taken over by hackers suspected of being Islamic State supporters.

The incident happened just as President Barack Obama was giving a speech on cyber-security.

"This extraordinary connection creates enormous opportunities, but also creates enormous vulnerabilities for us as a nation, for our economy and for individual families."

Oops.

Back in Australia and a call for mittens to protect the paws of singed koalas after the Adelaide Hills bushfires went viral.

Adelaide Koala and Wildlife hospital director Rae Campbell said they were completely overwhelmed.

'We did put out a call, we had thought maybe we'd get a couple of hundred. We had no anticipation, whatsoever, that we would get anything like the amount we have, because I really feel when today's mail is unpacked, it will be somewhere in the vicinity of 20,000."

Still with the knitters, and groups across the country fired up their needles to help breast cancer survivors by knitting cotton prosthetic breasts.

SBS met Merle, who wears two of the knitted knockers.

"They're so natural-feeling. Like, if I bump into someone, they don't know it's not the real boob. Like, before, you could always see the look in their eye, like, 'That feels a bit strange.' But these are so natural-feeling, and, if you bump into someone, they don't know it's not you. I'll probably take them to the grave with me. I'll be well dressed."

Australia's snail farmers had a bit of a boom in 2015, and found they were struggling to keep up with demand for the delicacy.

Head chef at Sydney's Bistro 32, Tod Laurence, tried to describe the taste of the gastropods.

"I think it's an acquired taste without a doubt. The person that's going to eat them is probably going to be quite a bit different, has a good palate. I would say they're a little bit like an oyster -- so, the oyster of the earth."

Prime Minister Tony Abbott's political judgement was called into question very early in 2015 following his decision to award an Australian knighthood to the Queen's husband, Prince Philip.

Independent Senator Nick Xenophon said the decision would be unlikely to do Mr Abbott any favours.

"This is a bit like giving Bill Gates an abacus. I don't know what he's going to do with it. When the Prime Minister made this announcement about a year ago, I thought it was whackily quaint and anachronistic, but now it's just become an acute embarrassment, plainly ridiculous. I reckon the Prime Minister is pushing his luck with backbenchers on this one."

We all know how that went.

And in 2015 we said adios to the worldwide musical phenomenon that is the Buena Vista Social Club.

At 84, diva and founding member Omara Portuondo embodied the sizzling Cuban sound.

"It will never be old. It will never die. Because of the energy it produces...the melody... it has lots of sex appeal."

 

 


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By Greg Dyett



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